In the walls of Chicago’s Tribune Tower, you can see chunks of the Alamo, the Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China and the Parthenon.
The opening of the Tribune Tower
It’s fair to say that no newspaper these days would dare to open offices as spectacular as the Tribune Tower. In the 1920s, the Chicago Tribune was at the zenith of its powers, and decided to hold a competition to build a new HQ.
The winning design was a piece of staggering chutzpah. Modelled loosely on the Gothic cathedral in Rouen, but turned into a 141 metre skyscraper with art deco hints in the central section, it catches the eye even amongst Chicago’s sea of top drawer high rises.
The newspaper business is no longer a licence to print money, however, and in 2018 the Tribune moved out, with most of the tower being converted into luxury flats.
- Discover more about Chicago’s incredible buildings on one of several themed architecture tours.
Tribune Tower lobby
The new occupants will be treated to one of the world’s most spectacular lobbies – it is adorned with a massive 3D topological map of North America and dozens of big-lettered quotes about the role and importance of the press. But they’ll also find themselves surrounded by several of the most important buildings on earth.
Five great things to do in Chicago
- 🏙️ Marvel at the skyscrapers – on a Chicago River architecture cruise.
- 🖼️ Take an interiors architecture tour – to see stunning glass art and mosaics.
- 🍕 Taste Chicago’s favourite dishes – on a city favourites food tour.
- 🌆 Visit the Willis Tower observation deck – and see the city from above.
- 🕵️ Discover Chicago’s gangster heritage – on a crime and mob tour.
Buildings from around the world in the Tribune Tower
There are some strange bobbles and outcrops as you walk around the Tribune Tower, which you’ll notice if you do a Chicago architecture walking tour as well as a cruise. It’s only once you start reading what’s written next to them that you start to work out what has gone on.
At one spot, there’s a piece of Abraham Lincoln’s original tomb embedded in the outer wall. It’s next to a chunk of a shrine from Tokyo, and a small marble fragment from the Roman ruins at Leptis Magna in Libya.
Head round the other side, there’s the stone where George Washington landed after crossing the Delaware River in the Revolutionary War, a piece of the Alamo from Texas and a hunk carved out of Nidaros Cathedral in Norway.
How world wonders ended up in the Tribune Tower
Keep going, and you’ll find bits of Edinburgh Castle, the Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China, Hamlet’s Castle in Helsingor, Denmark and the Parthenon. And what’s more, they’re all real.
It’s rather surprising that countries around the world didn’t start banning Tribune reporters, as they’re the ones culpable for this rather bizarre haul of additional extras. It seems that they started procuring parts of iconic sites while working abroad, and the souvenir collection morphed into something different once it was decided to add them to the building as trophies.
More recent additions to the Tribune Tower
It’s clear that the not-entirely-authorised snaffling has become something of a tradition. More recent inclusions in the Tribune Tower’s kleptomaniac external decoration include a segment of the Berlin Wall, roof tiles from the Sydney Opera House and some twisted metal bars retrieved from the ruins of the World Trade Center in New York.
As a result, it simultaneously incorporates seemingly every major building in the world, while being absolutely nothing like any of them. Except, of course, the cathedral of Notre Dame in Rouen, which, fittingly, is represented with a chunk of buttress wedged into the wall.
The origins of this haul may be ethically questionable, but it makes for both an excellent pub quiz question and a quite remarkable urban treasure hunt.
Things to do near the Tribune Tower
This part of downtown Chicago is packed with major sights within easy walking distance of Tribune Tower, making it easy to combine your visit with other highlights nearby.
Chicago Architecture Center
Around five minutes away on the riverfront, this centre is one of the best places to understand Chicago’s skyline. Its exhibitions explore how the city became a global centre for architecture, and it is also the departure point for popular river cruises.
Chicago River architecture cruise
Departing from docks close to Tribune Tower, these cruises are one of the most popular ways to see the city’s historic and modern buildings. The commentary focuses on landmarks you can also spot from street level around Michigan Avenue. That said, I think you should do an architecture walking tour as well as a cruise, then see Chicago’s best Frank Lloyd Wright architecture elsewhere in the city.
360 Chicago Observation Deck
Located in the former John Hancock Center, roughly a ten-minute walk north, this observation deck offers wide views over Lake Michigan and the city grid, providing a striking contrast to Tribune Tower’s Gothic design.
Museum of Ice Cream Chicago
A short walk inland, this attraction focuses on interactive installations and themed rooms, offering a very different experience from the surrounding historic architecture.
Millennium Park and Cloud Gate
About a 15-minute walk south, Millennium Park is home to Cloud Gate and other public artworks, and is often combined with visits to nearby cultural venues along Michigan Avenue.
The Art Institute of Chicago and the Tiffany dome of Preston Bradley Hall are also close by.
More Chicago travel
For a brilliant selection of Chicago tours and experiences, take a look at the options on Viator.
Other Chicago articles on Planet Whitley include:
- Kayaking along the Chicago River.
- Ten reasons why Chicago is the best city in the US.
- Falling instantly in love with Chicago.
- The joy of visiting Chicago third time round.
- Touring Chicago’s gangster heritage.
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